Plate for evaluating foods or other goods

ABSTRACT

A plate for use in evaluating food or other goods, includes a base surface and a plurality of spaced partitions extending upwardly from the base surface. The partitions are arranged to establish a plurality of segregated sections for receiving food or other goods to be evaluated. Each section has associated therewith, evaluation indicia to facilitate recordation of the results of an evaluation of the food or other goods received in the corresponding sections. In a preferred embodiment, the plate is generally circular with a central hub and a generally annular flange extending from the base surface proximate the outer circumference of the plate. In the preferred embodiment, the partitions extend radially between the central hub and the annular flange to establish the sections.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/168,502 filed Dec. 2, 1999 entitled, “Plate For Sampling and Evaluating Food Or Other Goods”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a tasting plate and, more specifically, to a tasting plate having multiple sections or food holders and having a corresponding set of sequential indicia for each food holder to facilitate the evaluation of multiple foods or other goods.

[0003] When sampling foods, it is common to put small portions of a variety of different foods on a single plate. Then, the various foods are individually tasted and comparisons and/or evaluations are made. Unfortunately, the accidental commingling of foods can make it difficult to properly separate the different foods which can make it more difficult to compare or evaluate the foods. Additionally, even when multiple foods can be separately identified it is often difficult to later remember the various evaluations made of each of the sampled foods.

[0004] One solution to the problem of commingled foods is to use plates having compartments that allow multiple foods to be separately placed on the plate without having juices or other portions of foods commingling. Unfortunately, this does not solve the problem of remembering specific opinions or evaluations of particular foods after sampling numerous separate foods. This difficulty in remembering one's evaluation of various foods can be complicated further by foods that have a similar look or texture or when several variations or recipes of the same food are to be evaluated. Currently, the only solution to this problem is to reduce the number of foods sampled at one interval and to individually record the evaluations from each interval to facilitate remembering multiple evaluations of a large variety of foods.

[0005] What is needed, but so far unaddressed by the contemporary art is a method of sampling multiple foods, possibly having a similar appearance, and simplifying the recording of a taster's preferences without the necessity of using a separate form or recording means.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Briefly stated, the present invention comprises a plate for evaluating food or other goods. The plate includes a base surface and a plurality of spaced partitions extending outwardly from the base surface and arranged to establish a plurality of segregated sections for receiving food or other goods to be evaluated. Each section has associated therewith, evaluation indicia to facilitate recordation of the results of an evaluation of the food or other goods received within the corresponding section. In a preferred embodiment, the plate is generally circular and includes a central hub extending upwardly from the base surface, an annular flange extending upwardly from the base surface, proximate the outer circumference thereon and a plurality of partitions extending upwardly from the base surface and radially between the central hub and the annular flange to establish the sections. In a preferred embodiment, the plate includes six partitions which establish six sections with the indicia being located on a portion of the annular flange, proximate to the corresponding section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0007] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawing an embodiment which is presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and instrumentality shown. In the drawing:

[0008]FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of a tasting plate according to the present invention; and

[0009]FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view of the tasting plate of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “right,” “left,” “lower,” and “upper” designate directions in the drawing to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the tasting plate and designated parts thereof. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. Additionally, the word “a,” as used in the specification and in the claims, means “at least one.” Referring to the drawing in detail, there is shown a preferred embodiment of a tasting plate, generally designated 10, according to the present invention. Generally speaking, the tasting plate 10 is used to sample and evaluate foods while permitting convenient recordation of evaluations thereof. Various foods can be placed in individual separated food holders or sections 14 that are each identified by indicia, such as an individual numeral 26. Then, while tasting the various foods, an evaluation of each individual food may be recorded on a set of sequential indicia 30 corresponding to each separate food holder or section 14 containing the particular food. This greatly facilitates the sampling of multiple foods and allows one to conveniently try different foods while recording an evaluation of each in a contemporaneous ongoing fashion. Additionally, the use of identification numerals 26 allows one to clearly distinguish between the foods in each food holder 14. Thus, the tasting plate 10 uses multiple separated food holders 14 and has a corresponding set of sequential indicia 30 for each food holder 14 to facilitate recording an evaluation of each of the foods contained therein.

[0011] The plate 10 is preferably circularly shaped with a base surface and is preferably formed of either paper, paperboard, coated paper or paperboard, Styrofoam or the like. The use of paper, or paperboard or Styrofoam allows one to easily mark or deface a portion of the plate 10 to record separate evaluations of the sampled foods. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that the present invention is not limited to plates 10 formed of paper, paperboard or Styrofoam. For example, the tasting plate 10 may be ceramic, plastic, or formed of any other suitable material used for constructing plates. Depending upon the specific material(s) chosen to form the plate 10, the method of marking or defacing the plate to record evaluation results may be adjusted. For example, when using a ceramic plate, markings can be placed on either the numeral 26 (which represents the food in the food holder 14) or a portion of the sequential indicia 30 using an edible paste or similar material. Alternatively, marking instruments, such as a washable or permanent marker, can be used with plastic or paper tasting plates 10.

[0012] While the preferred tasting plate 10 is circularly shaped, those of skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that the present invention is not limited to tasting plates 10 having a circular shape. For example, the tasting plate 10 can be square, triangular, or shaped similar to an artist's paint tray. The particular shape of the tasting plate 10 depends only upon consumer preferences and desired manufacturing criteria.

[0013] It is preferable that the tasting plate 10 has an annular flange 16 extending outwardly from the base surface along the outer circumference thereof. The flange 16 is preferably used as a marking surface to record a taster's evaluations of individual food samples, as detailed below. While it is preferable that the tasting plate 10 has a flange 16 extending around the circumference of the tasting plate 10, those of skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that other surfaces can be used to record a taster's evaluations of the individual food samples.

[0014] A central hub 12 is preferably formed in the radial center of the tasting plate 10. The central hub 12 preferably has a generally circular shape and projects upwardly from the base surface of the tasting plate 10. While it is preferable that the central hub 12 be generally centrally aligned on the tasting plate 10, those of skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that the particular location of the central hub 12 is not critical to the present invention. Furthermore, the central hub 12 is not necessary and can be omitted from the tasting plate 10 without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0015] Multiple food holders or sections 14 are positioned around the base surface of the tasting plate 10. Preferably, the food holders 14 are arranged around the central hub 12 between the outer radial surface 20 of the hub 12 and the inner radial edge 22 of the annular flange 16. In the preferred embodiment, the food holders 14 are formed by partitions 18 that extend upwardly from the base surface also extend radially from the radial outer surface 20 of the central hub 12 to the inner edge 22 of the annular flange 16. The partitions 18 are preferably integrally formed with the tasting plate 10 and can be formed using a single sheet or wall of plate material or the partitions 18 can be formed by a double wall comprising two sheets of plate material that meet along an upper edge to form the partition 18.

[0016] The partitions 18, the central hub 12 and the annular flange 16 form the individual separate or segregated sections or food holders 14 that are preferably wedged-shaped. While it is preferred that the food holders 14 are arranged circumferentially around the plate 10 in a fashion similar to pieces of a pie, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that the present invention is not limited to food holders 14 that are arranged in a pie-like fashion. For example, the food holders 14 can be arranged throughout the surface of the tasting plate 10 in a regular dimpled fashion similar to that of a muffin baking tin. When using a muffin baking tin shaped tasting plate 10, the portions of the tasting plate 10 that do not extend downwardly to form a food holder 14 can be used as a marking surface similar to the flange 16 of the preferred embodiment.

[0017] While the tasting plate 10 preferably has six food holders 14, those of skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that a tasting plate 10 can be constructed using any number of food holders 14, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The only limit to the number of food holders 14 results from the size of each individual food holder 14 and the relative size of the entire tasting plate 10.

[0018] Proximate to each food holder 14 is a sequential set of evaluation indicia 30 that may be used by a food evaluator to record his or her evaluation of the corresponding food sample. It is preferred that each sequential set of indicia 30 be located on the portion of the annular flange 16 that is coincident with the arc of the circle occupied by the corresponding food holder 14. Thus, a separate sequential set of indicia 30 is preferably positioned on the annular flange 16 next to each food holder 14 on the portion of the annular flange 16 that is adjacent to the food holder 14. While it is preferred that the sequential set of indicia 30 is placed on the annular flange 16 of the tasting plate 10, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that the sequential set of indicia 30 can be placed anywhere on the tasting plate 10 proximate to the corresponding food holder 14, such as on a partition 18, that will not interfere with the sampling of the individual food products contained therein.

[0019] Furthermore, while it is preferred that alphanumerical characters, such as numerals comprise the symbols 28, such as the numbers 1 through 5, that are used in the sequential set of indicia 30, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to the use of alphanumeric characters or numerals as the symbols 28 for the sequential set of indicia 30. For example, the combination of graphical depictions representing a frowning face, a halfway frowning face, an expressionless face, a halfway smiling face, a happy face, and an ecstatic face can be used as graphical symbols 28 to indicate a taster's preferences.

[0020] The sequential sets of indicia 30 on the tasting plate 10 are not limited to markings, preformed numerals or other types of sequential sets of indicia that are inked or permanently formed onto the flange 16. For example, each symbol 28 in the set of sequential indicia 30 could be placed on a hemispherical, bubble-like, deformable surface similar to those commonly found on drink lids to indicate the type of drink contained in a cup. To use a tasting plate 10 which used symbols 28 that are each placed on a separate hemispherical, bubble-like, deformable surface, a taster depresses the appropriate bubble-like surface which corresponds to a particular symbol 28 of the set of sequential indicia 30 to record his or her preference.

[0021] Thus, the tasting plate 10 can be formed of a heavy durable plastic, or similar material, that uses bubble-like surfaces to support each symbol 28 of the set of sequential indicia 30. Such a tasting plate 10 is reusable and allows a taster to record various food evaluations without the use of a marker, pen, or toothpick. This simplifies the use of the tasting plate 10 and increases the safety and ease with which young children can participate in food samplings and evaluations.

[0022] On the top surface 24 of the central hub 12 is identification indicia, in the present embodiment a plurality of numerals 26 positioned proximate to the outer circumference of the central hub 12. Each numeral 26 is preferably positioned next to a particular food holder 14 to identify the particular food contained in the food holder 14. While it is preferred to use numerals as the identification indicia to indicate the contents of each food holder 12, those of skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that various symbols, such as letters, food symbols, colors, or expressions can be used to identify various foods.

[0023] While it is preferred that the identification indicia or numerals 26 are placed on the central hub 12, those of skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that various numerals can be formed into the bottom of the individual food holders 14 or placed along the flange 16. Depending upon the positioning of the individual numeral 26 for each food holder 14, the color of the numeral 26 is preferably different from that used for the symbols 28 of the sequential set of indicia 30 to facilitate distinguishing the identification numeral 26 from the symbols 28 of the individual sets of sequential evaluation indicia 30.

[0024] While it is preferred to use numerals 26 that are preformed on the tasting plate 10 with the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure that various other mechanisms can be used to indicate the contents of each food holder 14. For instance, when using disposable plates, multiple stickers can be provided which a taster can affix proximate to the food holder 14 depending upon the particular food placed therein. For example, small stickers with pictures of chicken, beef, carrots, cake, cookies could be provided to allow a user to place the appropriate sticker next to the food holder 14 to identify the contents therein. Depending upon the particular set of prepackaged tasting plates 10 that are selected by a food tasting coordinator, multiple sheets of stickers each containing a picture of one of a wide variety of similar foods can be used to allow tasters to select appropriate stickers even though all the foods being sampled are generally similar. For example, a single sheet of stickers can be packaged with, or otherwise attached to, a tasting plate 10 that contains pictures of butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, sugar cookies, and fortune cookies. Thus, tasting plates 10 of the present invention can be manufactured that do not use any of the tasting plate's 10 area to form the preferred central hub 12. Instead of using numerals 26 to identify foods, the tasters select the appropriate sheet of stickers depending upon the particular genre of foods that will be sampled at the food tasting.

[0025] A method of using the tasting plate 10 while simplifying the marking process includes selecting a disposable plate, selecting an individual smaller sized sticker, and placing the sticker over the symbol 26 in the sequential set of indicia 30 that represents a taster's evaluation. By placing a small sized sticker over the particular symbol 26 of the sequential indicia 30 which corresponds to the taster's evaluation, the taster both identifies the individual ranking of the corresponding food and indicates (by the use of a sticker bearing a particular food image) the type of food that was evaluated. Thus, the stickers can be used to both indicate the particular food sampled and, in combination with the sequential set of indicia 30, to indicate a taster's evaluation of the sampled food. To further simplify the tasting process, self adhesive stickers can be placed on the top surface of the central hub 12 (or alternatively, on another part of the tasting plate 10) to simplify the manipulation of the sticker while supporting the tasting plate 10 and the food contained thereon.

[0026] In operation, the preferred embodiment of the tasting plate 10 is used as follows. A taster picks up an individual tasting plate 10 and supports the plate 10 in an upright position. Then, individual foods are selected from a prearranged display of foods. Beginning with the first food holder 14 (which is identified by the corresponding numeral 26 as the first food holder 14), the taster places a portion of a first food sample into the food holder 14. Then, the taster moves sequentially about the food display placing individual samples of each food into the food holders 14 in a sequential fashion. Thus, the taster has an easy way to cross-reference which foods were evaluated simply by remembering the starting point at the food display and the sequential pattern followed in selecting foods from the food display.

[0027] Once the tasting plate 10 is full, or the taster has placed a portion of each of the foods that the taster wishes to sample onto the plate 10, the taster proceeds to sample the individual portions in any order desired. As the taster samples the foods contained in one of food holders 14, the taster forms an evaluation and uses the corresponding set of sequential indicia 30 located on the flange 16 to record the evaluation by suitably marking or defacing the appropriate symbol 28 which corresponds to the taster's evaluation.

[0028] Once the taster is finished evaluating each of the foods contained in the food holders 14 of the tasting plate 10, the taster is able to quickly determine each evaluation that was made of the selected food samples. Thus, the present invention provides a tasting plate 10 that dramatically simplifies the sampling of multiple types of food and that simplifies the recording of individual evaluations of different foods to a greater extent than before possible. Furthermore, the increased ease of sampling multiple foods provided by the tasting plate 10 of the present invention will increase the accuracy and ease with which manufactures and producers can use lay people to accurately conduct food quality surveys.

[0029] It is recognized by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to the above-described embodiment of the invention without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. For example, the plate 10 can be used for testing and evaluation of any other goods of any kind. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but is intended to cover all modifications which are within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

I claim:
 1. A plate for use in evaluating food or other goods, the plate including a base surface and a plurality of spaced partitions extending outwardly from the base surface and arranged to establish a plurality of segregated sections for receiving food or other goods to be evaluated, each section having associated therewith evaluation indicia to facilitate recordation of the results of an evaluation of the food or other goods received within the corresponding section.
 2. The plate as recited in claim 1 , wherein each section further includes identification indicia.
 3. The plate as recited in claim 2 , wherein the identification indicia comprises alphanumeric characters.
 4. The plate as recited in claim 1 , wherein the evaluation indicia comprises a sequential set of symbols.
 5. The plate as recited in claim 4 , wherein the symbols comprise sequential alphanumeric characters.
 6. The plate as recited in claim 1 , wherein the evaluation indicia are located on a partition forming each section.
 7. The plate as recited in claim 1 , wherein the partitions are arranged to establish six sections.
 8. The plate as recited in claim 1 , which is formed of one of paper, paperboard and Styrofoam.
 9. A generally circular plate for use in evaluating food or other goods, the plate including a base surface, a central hub extending upwardly from the base surface, a generally annular flange extending upwardly from the base surface proximate the outer circumference thereof and a plurality of partitions extending upwardly from the base surface and extending radially between the central hub and annular flange, the partitions, being circumferentially spaced from each other to establish therebetween a plurality of segregated sections for receiving food or other goods to be evaluated, each section having associated therewith evaluation indicia to facilitate recordation of the results of an evaluation of food or other goods within the corresponding section.
 10. The plate as recited in claim 9 , wherein the evaluation indicia is located on a portion of the annular flange proximate to the corresponding section.
 11. The plate as recited in claim 10 , wherein the evaluation indicia comprises a sequential set of symbols.
 12. The plate as recited in claim 11 , wherein the symbols comprise alphanumeric characters.
 13. The plate as recited in claim 9 , wherein each section further includes identification indicia.
 14. The plate as recited in claim 13 , wherein the identification indicia comprise alphanumeric characters.
 15. The plate as recited in claim 9 , wherein there are six partitions which establish six sections. 